Daily News

Barrett Revenue Up 20%

April 25 2012

First-quarter revenue rose 19.9 percent on a year-over-year basis at Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASD: BBSI) to $82.4 million. The increase came through continued growth from the Vancouver, Wash.-based firm’s professional employer organization (PEO) division.

Barrett also provides staffing services with revenue in this division falling 7.5 percent in the first quarter to $26.2 million from $28.3 million in the same period last year.

“The solid revenue and new client momentum we built throughout 2011 was carried into the first quarter of 2012,” said President and CEO Michael Elich. “As we move through 2012, we are confident in our ability to sustain this momentum. We expect our referral networks will enable us to continue to build width within our client base and expand our revenues. Given the depth of our client pipeline and our strong client retention, we plan to continue to invest in our infrastructure and human capital throughout the year.”

The company’s first-quarter gross margin edged down to 8.0 percent from 8.1 percent in the year-ago quarter.

The company recorded a first-quarter net loss of $2.2 million, compared with net income of $5.6 million in the year-ago period. The company reported that the first quarter of this year included $460,000 in legal and professional fees related to a request for a special stockholders meet. For more on that request, click here.

In addition, the first quarter of last year included $10.0 million the company received from a life insurance policy after the death of its previous CEO. The company also had costs associated with a CEO transition and a lower annual effective tax rate. Taking these into account, the company had a net loss of $2.0 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Barrett also reported the net losses in both periods were due primarily to seasonally higher employment tax burden.

Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASD: BBSI)
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, compared with the year-ago period.
Revenue: $82.4 million, +19.9 percentNet loss: $2.2 million vs. net income of $5.5 million

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